Dissertation
Hispanic student engagement at hispanic serving institutions and predominantly white institutions
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Autumn 2025
DOI: 10.25820/etd.008208
Abstract
This dissertation replicates and extends Nelson Laird et al.’s influential 2007 study (2007), to reexamine Hispanic student engagement, satisfaction, and educational activities nearly two decades later using 2020 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data. The analytic sample includes 7,677 Hispanic seniors at 35 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and 9,729 at 400 Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Guided by Gina Ann García’s theory of servingness, which emphasizes intentional, equity-centered institutional practices beyond enrollment thresholds, this study mirrors the prior methodological design to assess how engagement patterns have evolved within shifting educational, political, and funding landscapes.
Findings reveal that Hispanic seniors at HSIs and PWIs continue to report broadly similar levels of engagement. HSIs show modest yet descriptive advantages in Supportive Environment and Collaborative Learning, although only Collaborative Learning remains statistically significant after accounting for demographic and institutional characteristics. These small but meaningful differences suggest emerging institutional progress toward authentic servingness, while highlighting persistent disparities in faculty interaction, exposure to diverse perspectives, and institutional resources. By integrating García’s framework with longitudinal NSSE data, this study illuminates the ongoing distinction between enrolling and serving Hispanic students and underscores how institutional culture, funding structures, and policy contexts shape student engagement and belonging in contemporary higher education.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Hispanic student engagement at hispanic serving institutions and predominantly white institutions
- Creators
- Mark Valencia
- Contributors
- Cassie Barnhardt (Advisor)Brian An (Committee Member)Nicholas Bowman (Committee Member)Rene Rocha (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Educational Policy and Leadership Studies (Higher Education and Student Affairs)
- Date degree season
- Autumn 2025
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.008208
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xii, 158 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2025 Mark Valencia
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 12/09/2025
- Description illustrations
- graphs, tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 122-134).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
- This dissertation examines how Hispanic college students experience engagement and learning at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) compared to Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Using responses from more than 16,000 Hispanic seniors in the 2020 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the study revisits questions first explored in an influential 2007 analysis of 2003 NSSE data. The research is guided by Dr. Gina Ann Garc a s concept of servingness, which focuses on whether HSIs move beyond enrolling Hispanic students to intentionally supporting, validating, and engaging them. Results show that Hispanic students at both HSIs and PWIs report broadly similar levels of engagement. HSIs display small descriptive advantages in areas like collaborative learning and supportive campus environments, although only collaborative learning remains significant after accounting for student and institutional characteristics. These patterns suggest emerging progress in how some HSIs cultivate community and connection, even as challenges such as limited funding, faculty interaction, and resource disparities persist. Overall, the findings highlight that truly serving Hispanic students requires more than enrollment numbers and depends on intentional, inclusive practices that affirm students identities and foster meaningful engagement.
- Academic Unit
- Educational Policy and Leadership Studies
- Record Identifier
- 9985135249402771
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